


Bad Things Happen Bingo: Go Through Me

by taylor_tut



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Drabble, Family Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Protective Ben Hargreeves, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-20 17:18:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18529606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taylor_tut/pseuds/taylor_tut
Summary: A 13-year-old Vanya can't sleep after being degraded by Reginald all day, so Ben, who can't sleep, reminds her that she's not worthless.





	Bad Things Happen Bingo: Go Through Me

Vanya would have dried her tears more thoroughly if she’d known that Ben was sitting on the couch reading a book. She’d already checked on Klaus, who tended to stay up late into the night because he couldn't sleep in the dark and Reginald kept taking away his night lights, but she hadn't checked Ben's room. She'd forgotten that he sometimes had issues sleeping when the Umbrella Academy performed missions, and today, he'd spent 45 minutes washing blood off himself in the shower. It made her feel bad for pitying herself, and she was about to turn and go back to her room when she was caught. 

"Hey, Vanya," Ben called, setting his book down on his lap. "What are you doing up so late?" 

Vanya forced herself to join him in the living room, hoping that it wasn't too evident that she'd been crying on and off all day since her special siblings had gone out to fight and she'd been left alone once again. 

"I was just getting up for a glass of water," she explained. The stuffiness in her tone must have been a dead giveaway, because Ben's face contorted into a look of sympathy. 

"What's wrong?" he asked. "You look like you've been crying." 

She shook her head. "Allergies?" she tried, but Ben shot her a disapproving look that told her he wasn't convinced. "Fine," she caved, "yes."

Ben scooted over on the couch and patted the place next to him, so she sat. 

"Why?" he asked. Vanya shrugged. 

"It's stupid," she said. "I'm just hormonal and tired." 

"Come on, Van," he chastized, "give me a little credit. I know you better than that." 

She huffed an irritated sigh. "It's really nothing," she insisted. "Dad just lectures me when you all go out on missions."

Ben frowned. "He does?" he questioned. "About what?" 

"Standard dad stuff," she replied nonchalantly. "How I'm not good enough, not special like you guys are, why I'm useless. That sort of thing."

At that, Ben looked, for the first time that Vanya had ever seen him, furious. Of all her siblings, Ben was always the one who kept himself composed and cool. He was patient where the others were competetive, like a tiny Dalai Lama who never fought with his family and never had a bad thing to say about anyone. 

"Dad can be a real bastard," he muttered. "You know that's just him, right? He tells all of us that we suck." He paused. "Well, probably not Luther, but the rest of us? All the time."

Vanya felt her eyes well up with tears again. "Yeah, but at least with you, it's because he cares. He sees everything that you can be and he gets mad when he doesn't think you're living up to it. He hates me just because he hates having to keep a kid that doesn't have any powers. He'd get rid of me if he could; we all know it." 

Ben couldn't deny it. Like Klaus always said, Reginald hated children. He probably only had the Umbrella Academy because it was illegal to own doomsday devices and this was the closest he could get. Instead of trying to convince her of something that he knew she'd never believe, he pulled her close for a hug, wrapping his arms around her small shoulders and not flinching away when he heard her sniffling and knew that she was staining his shirt with tears. 

"He'll have to go through me if he wants to throw you away," he promised. "Powers don't matter, Vanya, but you certainly do." 

Though Vanya would never quite believe that statement, it was a comfort to think that her brother, and maybe even the rest of their siblings, did. She nodded against Ben's shoulder and let him squeeze her tighter before he let her go so she could swipe at her eyes and finally give him a shaky smile that wasn't forced. 

"Thanks, Ben," she said, standing up from the couch and heading back to her room, the glass of water she'd come down for forgotten. "Get some sleep tonight, 'kay?" 

Ben smiled but looked back to his book as soon as she retreated up the stairs.

 


End file.
